Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation

The end of the beginning (I hope)

All is quiet and the lights are dimmed, the calm between the storms has hit the Remote Operations Centre at the Satellite Applications Catapult. This week has been incredibly busy, getting people settled in to the 8 desktop stations in the Operations Centre (sorting out all sorts of ‘stuff’, like software packages and wifi access) and changing everything so we can run the video wall at full resolution. As a result, I think we need seat belts on the chairs at the stations, for when Joel and Peter ‘fly’ over the terrain, and execute sharp dives and turns! It’s very exciting, and you really feel you are there. Everyone is taking a break today, and we’ll pick up the pace next week, running an operations rehearsal prior to the rover landing (and I trust the geologists in the field have found a great site for the team to explore).